The Study Of Disaster Movies: Research Problems, Findings, and Implications

Abstract

This paper deals primarily with the problems and opportunities intrinsic in a social scientific study of disaster films. In the introductory section, we note the importance of popular culture in affecting the beliefs of people and discuss the possible role of movies in shaping the conceptions and ideas held by the public at large about the physical and human features of disastrous events. In the second section section we outline the pilot study of disaster films we undertook and attempt to show the lessons learned as a result of the gap between our intent and our achievements. This is followed by a discussion of the major substantive observations and impressions derived from the content of the disaster movies we viewed. The paper concludes with suggestions for future and more systematic research into all aspects of popular culture and disasters and presents specific recommendations for studies into all phases of the production and consumption of disaster movies.

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